Green Lake Park 翠湖公园Cuìhú Gōngyuán

Why go to Green Lake Park

Green Lake is a small park in central Kunming, its four ponds divided by willow-lined causeways and arched bridges and dotted with pavilions. Locals gather here from early morning to sing, dance and play music, and from about November to March thousands of black-headed gulls winter on the water, swooping over the bridges as visitors feed them. The streets around it, by the old campus of Yunnan University, are some of the most pleasant in the city to wander.

The story

The lake was once joined to Dianchi Lake and, fed by springs and ringed with vegetable plots, was long known as Caihaizi. In the 19th century the viceroy Ruan Yuan built a causeway across it, modelled on the Su Causeway on Hangzhou's West Lake. Black-headed gulls from Siberia first wintered in Kunming in large numbers in 1985, and feeding them has been a city ritual ever since.

What to see at Green Lake Park

• Lake Heart Pavilion 湖心亭: A pavilion on the island in the middle of the lake, first built in 1692 as the start of the park's garden layout. It sits at the heart of the causeways and is a good place to stop.
• Ruan Causeway 阮堤: The willow-lined embankment across the water, built in 1834 by the viceroy Ruan Yuan. It is a pleasant walk under the trees, especially in spring.
• Winter gull-feeding bridges 翠湖观鸥: From about November to March, black-headed gulls gather around the lake. Bring bread, as locals and vendors do, and watch them take it in flight.
• Nie Er statue 聂耳像: A statue of Nie Er, composer of China's national anthem and a native of Kunming, stands in the park.

How to visit Green Lake Park

Walk the park along the causeways and across the bridges, stopping to watch the music and dance groups. Go early for the liveliest atmosphere, or at dusk; in winter, add time for the gulls. The surrounding ring road has teahouses and cafés for a break.

How to get to Green Lake Park

Green Lake is in the heart of Kunming, a short walk from Huashan West Road station on Metro Line 5. Most central hotels are within walking distance or a short taxi ride.

Where to stay

Stay in the streets around the lake, by the old Yunnan University campus, for easy walks to the park and the cafés of Wenlin Street. This part of central Kunming also has good transport links to the rest of the city.

What to eat

• Crossing-the-bridge rice noodles 过桥米线: Yunnan's best-known noodle dish, said to come from Mengzi in the south and served all over Kunming: scalding broth with raw toppings and rice noodles that you add yourself so they cook at the table.
• Steam-pot chicken 汽锅鸡: Chicken steamed in a special clay pot whose steam makes a clear, rich soup even without added water. The dish comes from Jianshui and became a Kunming restaurant staple in the 1940s.
• Flower cakes 鲜花饼: Pastry filled with edible rose petals and sugar, a Yunnan speciality best known from Kunming bakeries and best eaten fresh.

Tips for visiting Green Lake Park

• The park is open every day; come early, when the music, dancing and gull-feeding are in full swing.
• For even bigger flocks in winter, head to the Haigeng Dam on Dianchi Lake, Kunming's main gull-watching spot.
• Yuantong Temple, the city's best-known Buddhist temple, and the café-lined lanes of Wenlin Street and Wenhua Lane by Yunnan University are all a short walk away.

Nearby

• Western Hills & Dragon Gate 西山龙门 10 km
  Taoist grottoes and a single-file ledge path cut into a cliff high above Dianchi Lake
• Chengjiang Fossil Site & Fuxian Lake 澄江化石地与抚仙湖 50 km
  Half-billion-year-old fossils of early animals beside one of China's deepest lakes
• Stone Forest 石林 70 km
  A maze of limestone blades and towers you can lose yourself in
• Dongchuan Red Land 东川红土地 100 km
  Hills of brick-red soil patched with green, gold and white crops like a giant quilt

Also within 30 km: Lu Han's Mansion 卢汉公馆 (under 10 km), Yunnan Military Academy 云南陆军讲武堂 (under 10 km), Huize Hall, Yunnan University 会泽院 (under 10 km), Anti-Japanese War Victory Memorial Hall, Kunming 抗战胜利纪念堂 (under 10 km), Former Site of National Southwest Associated University 国立西南联合大学旧址 (under 10 km), Fulintang Pharmacy 福林堂 (under 10 km).

Trips with Green Lake Park

• Yunnan by train: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La 9 days · Kunming, Dali, Lijiang and Shangri-La

On the map

Open Green Lake Park on the illustrated map to see the terrain around it, what else is close, and to add it to a trip and plan the days.

Learn more

• Wikipedia
• Wikipedia (Chinese)